Tentacle-Free Anime: "Oreimo" (2010) Review

One thing I love about anime is its willingness to cover many different kinds of genres. Even if you don't like “anime” as a whole, there's usually something out there for at least someone. It ranges from giant robots, to moe schoolgirls, from horror to pop music-centered shows. With anime the possibilities are indeed endless. Lately though, anime has had an odd fascination with the taboo brother/sister relationship pairing. Not sure why... but let's go ahead and discuss a rather recent, rather infamous anime that dabbled in this particular subject...

Summary:Living in the shadow of his prodigious younger sister, Kyousuke Kosaka conducts a normal lifestyle until he accidentally finds out that she hides a secret. In addition to being smart, pretty, and popular; Kirino Kosaka is also an obsessive consumer of anime and eroge (adult computer games). After being assured that Kyousuke is committed to not mock her and keep this concealed from their parents, she starts to share a bit of her world with him. Kirino faces several problems as she tries to keep the appearances and balance her exemplar school life with her hobbies. Her brother then becomes a crucial ally while dealing with all the difficulties that lie ahead.[AnimeNewsNetwork.com]

Take a story about an ordinary guy, introduce him to the world of the otaku, and then surround him with a plentiful horde of waifus and what do you get? Oreimo. Now let's discuss it.

DVD cover.

When I first started watching this anime I fell in love with the way otaku culture was presented in it. Not through the eyes of a character like Ayase (we'll get to her) but through Kirino's sheer love for the mediums that culture surrounds. I am aware otaku actually means someone who just has an interest in something, but for the sake of my reviews otaku will represent anime/manga/Japanese culture fanatics. I was impressed with the fact that Kirino and Kyosuke's relationship was to grow into something of a platonic respect for one another, not an actual lovey-dovey interest. Then that ending happened though, and I wasn't really sure what to think of it.

Having rewatched the series several times over, though, I respect the road this anime went down more and more. I have a “usual” no-spoilers policy for my reviews, so I won't go into much detail about everything that happens, but we'll touch on it a bit.

I bring this up though because I feel Oreimo is a show that’s on repeat viewings than it is during the initial viewing. There are some drawbacks to that though, as this anime is also very frustrating to sit through even one time – let alone several times. It's a major negative Oreimo has going for it as yes, most of the characters whine about the most pathetic of things and I feel they should've been toned down.

The cast seems a little on edge about all this weird stuff.

That, plus the incestuous undertones that play out through the series (It's really nothing souring, and all due to their growing relationship as siblings. Going from hating each other to calling one another friend.) are what makes Oreimo a hard sell to get people to watch it. I've successfully recommended it to three people though, and all of them pretty much had the same reaction. They don't regret watching it.

Kyosuke's journey into the realm of otaku is quite profound and surreal to see. It's from a genuine outsiders perspective as we get to see his initial annoyance with the culture turn into gradual acceptance. I was very impressed how they handled his character, allowing us to witness his transformation and to get to see him for what he truly is. I like Kyosuke a lot, and I constantly feel bad for him throughout the show as he deals with heartbreak, beat downs, and general annoyance from his sister. But he sees it all through to the end in order to take care of her, and that's what makes Kyosuke a hero worth rooting for. He does what he does for others, and very rarely himself.

Kirino on the other hand, while she does grow on me as everything progresses she's still the utter pain in the butt that makes this series so hard to watch for first time viewers. You just want to slap her when she's on screen. I do enjoy her love for anime, manga, and games though which is one of her redeeming qualities. As a person she's self-centered, egotistical, physically abusive, but she treats her fandom with respect as well as the friends she makes along the way. Kirino even knows when to properly pat her brother on the back for a job well done. Kirino has a little sister complex though, which I find hysterical. She wishes that she herself was a big sister. And while the reasoning for this is explained, I always found this quality in her to be... cute.

My little sister can't have a show like this.

There are plenty of other characters in this series as well, so let's talk about a few shall we?

Kuroneko is an adorable little demon (not an actual demon) who thinks very highly of the Kosaka's and their relationship. Although she sees Kirino as her mortal rival, she also sees her as her greatest friend. They get in to bickering fights over which anime and genres are better, and Kuroneko is quite the handy, actual big sister in her own right. I like Kuroneko a lot because she is so understanding of events and doesn't jump to conclusions or abusive treatment over something small or big. She thinks things through, and acts accordingly. Her character does take a dip in season 2 though when she does something really selfish and hurtful for the sake of herself, even if it hurts others in the process. However, I never could find something to truly dislike about Kuronek and as it stands she's my favorite character of the anime.

Ayase is another major character in this show. Think Kirino, but with black hair, and no love for otaku culture. She is still self-centered, egotistical, and physically abusive. All of which towards Kyosuke. In fact Ayase hold the most “popular” view of anime – it seems – throughout the entire show. She thinks it is all disgusting and those associated with the medium are disgusting. Which is why it sucks that she's also Kirino's best friend. However, unlike Kirino, I could never find myself hating Ayase. It's weird, they're so similar, but I find Ayase's behavior to be much more attractive – except for the storyline where she finds out Kirino's an otaku. And by the end of the series, Ayase's pretty much fully redeemed for all of her actions in my eyes.

There are other characters, too, like Saori the nerdy otaku “guru” and resident otaku stereotype; and Manami, the childhood best friend to Kyosuke and Kirino, and resident – ahem – plain Jane character of the bunch. I won't talk about them though as their story lines require the most jumping around of spoilers and well, we'd be here all day.

While Oreimo's story takes a drastic turn near the end, one I don't think many people actually saw coming, I can safely say my favorite part about the series as a whole is that by the end every single character has had a full character arc. Every single character is left in a position completely opposite to the one in which we first met them, and very few stories achieve that. Character arcs are there to see our heroes (or villains) evolve and become better or worse depending on what the story calls for. They drive the story through their actions, and Oreimo actually manages that quite well. It is a story filled with proactive characters, not reactive. The most reactive is Kyosuke, and he turns into a completely proactive character by the end of it and I love that.

It's this kind of story telling that, while I still don't absolutely know how I feel about the ending, sets Oreimo firmly at #5 in my top 5 favorite anime of all time. It will sit there for a good long while.

The animation of Oreimo is pretty average. It's good when it needs to, but it isn't like you can sit down to watch this and go “Look at those details! Look at the vibrant setting!” No, the CGI for the vehicles are kind of crap, and the setting, unless specified otherwise, is usually just “there” so we can focus more on our characters. Now, there are a few really action-y scenes in some episodes and those generally look amazing. The opening sequence is also the kind that evolves with its story when certain revelations are made. A lot like the s-CRY-edopening, as I mentioned in that review. I really really enjoy openings like that. They really put a lot of care in reflecting their story in the place where its most needed to get you interested. The ending sequence is pretty neat, too, because every single closing song is different and there is a different image accompanying each different song. I say image, because this is where budget seems to rear its ugly head: each ending sequence focuses on one specific image/illustration instead of multiple animated shots like ending sequences in anime usually have.

It's the little moments in life we live for. Except this moment.

The physical releases for Oreimo came with each illustration seen in each ending as a postcard though, so I'm not complaining too much. The postcards are pretty awesome to have.

As far as animation goes, my ultimate love simply comes from the art style. I love the art style of the characters, for some reason they just look great. They're all designed so well and the way the characters are drawn I can't help but feel mesmerized. Hiro Kanazaki's artistic style is just so rounded and I am excited to see what he does next.

Oreimo is waifu the anime. It's "women are crazy" the anime. It's "ordinary people are weird" the anime. It's all of these, and both a frustrating and enjoyable experience. If you can get past the incestuous undertones and Kirino's overall awful attitude then you're in for a real roller coaster ride of emotions. The ending isn't perfect by a long shot, but I've seen much worse and I really don't hate it like most people do. I like this anime, and I think it has a lot to say about real human relationships if you just give it the time of day to listen.

Final Score: 3.5 Slaps to the Face out of 5That's all from me for 2014, folks! Happy Holidays, and see you all next year!Have you seen "Oreimo"? How did you like it? Leave us a comment!